OMC Employees Recognized for Screening Program Work

PORT ANGELES -- Chief Executive Officer Eric Lewis presented recognition
awards to behavioral health intervention specialists Beverly Hughes, registered
nurse, board certified in psychiatry and mental health and Sarah Conway, master
of social work, during Olympic Medical Center’s board of commissioners meeting
on September 7 for their work on the WASBIRT program at Olympic Medical.

WASBIRT stands
for "Washington Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment,”
which is a nationally recognized screening tool to identify people with mild to
severe substance use disorders. Those identified through screening are given a
brief intervention by a medical professional who addresses the individual’s
substance use and assists the individual with establishing a plan to reduce use
in the future. When needed, patients are referred to specialty care for their
substance use disorder.

"Bev has been
instrumental in the successful 2013 implementation of the WASBIRT program in
the emergency department. Since that time, Bev and her colleagues have
counseled roughly 3,000 patients and referred over 1,200 patients to chemical
dependency treatment,” stated Lorraine Wall, chief nursing officer, Olympic
Medical Center.

"Sarah is very
professional when communicating with patients and their families, and is a
valued member of the emergency department case management team,” said Wall.

Screening,
intervention and referral to treatment can effectively reduce the severity of
substance use disorders and improve health outcomes for patients. It also aims
to decrease the risks of injury and negative life consequences, such as DUIs or
job loss. Motivational interviewing is used to assist patients with making
positive behavioral changes related to their alcohol or drug use.

Olympic
Medical Center’s WASBIRT program has been named the most successful site in the
state by the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services Research
and Data Analysis Division. During September 2013 through July 2016, 1,256
patients were referred to treatment through this program. Of those referred
patients, 42 percent sought substance use disorder treatment as compared to the
national average of 6 to 8 percent.

Olympic
Medical Center (Clallam County Public Hospital District No. 2) is a
comprehensive, award-winning health care provider for more than 70,000
residents of Clallam County. It has served the community since its
establishment on Nov. 1, 1951, and is governed by a seven-member, publicly
elected board. Olympic Medical is a sole community hospital and rural referral
center, and a charter member of both the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance (2003)
and the Swedish Health Network (2011). Olympic Medical provides inpatient
services at its 67-bed acute-care facility in Port Angeles, including a
level-three trauma designated emergency department, surgical services, and
labor and delivery. OMC’s outpatient services include cardiac, imaging,
physical therapy and rehabilitation, laboratory, sleep medicine, surgical
services, home health, physician clinics and comprehensive regional cancer care
at locations in Port Angeles and Sequim.